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Updated: Sep 24, 2025
Author Spotlight: Enhancing CryoEM Sample Preparation Using Graphene Monolayer on Microscopy Grids
Published on: November 10, 2023
Identification of graphene oxide and its structural features in solvents by optical microscopy
Huailiang Xu1,2, Zhikai Qi1, Hongchang Jin1
1Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Applied Chemistry, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026 P. R. China jihengx@ustc.edu.cn +86-551-63607290.
Abstract:
Graphene oxide (GO) suspensions in solvents are the most important feedstocks for preparing GO based composites, and the dispersion state of GO on the microscale in solvent is a dominating factor in determining the physical properties of GO based composites. However, the morphology of GO sheets in solvents has hardly been reported due to the limitation of the characterization methods. Here, we report that the sheet thickness and lateral size of GO in solution can be identified using optical microscopy (OM) within a couple of minutes. The dispersion states of GO, including stretched flakes, scrolls, crumbles, and agglomerates, can also be distinguished. Moreover, the dispersion states, which change with the pH value and ionic strength of the solvent, are closely related to the dispersion stability of the GO suspension and the morphology of the GO/PVA composite. We believe that the fast observation and identification of GO sheets and their structural features in solvents, enabled by OM, opens up a new avenue to studying GO based composite materials in liquids.
